The invention relates to a splitting wedge comprising at least a wedge sleeve and an external sleeve, each of which consists of at least two halves, and a wedge.
It is necessary to split rock and stones e.g. in various quarries and construction sites. The methods and tools used in splitting largely depend on the scale of the work and on the manner in which the material will subsequently be utilized, since different working methods may be used for merely breaking rock into smaller pieces and for splitting rock with the aim to produce as straight cleavage faces as possible. Typically, when splitting large stones and rocks, either explosives or various wedges are utilized.
In addition to their price, many other restrictions also exist for the use of explosives. It is a demanding task to master an explosive agent method, and the use of explosives is often problematic as far as occupational safety is concerned, which is why extra procedures, such as interruption of work and building various protective constructions, are usually required. The use of explosives causes noise problems and, because the method is difficult to manage, also involves a risk of broken pieces and other loose pieces bursting over even a large area, which means restrictions for the use of explosives e.g. in the vicinity of residential areas. In addition, as far as the subsequent use of the material is concerned, the blasting method produces a lot of waste rock and the material may suffer from dark stains and discoloration caused by blasting.
For many reasons, it is advantageous to split rock by using a splitting wedge. In wedge splitting, a force is applied to the rock from within, which is quite advantageous and efficient as far as the structure of the rock is concerned. No explosives are needed in wedge splitting and, as compared to blasting, it is thus an extremely safe splitting method. In wedge splitting, it is also possible to control both the direction of splitting of the rock and the straightness of the cleavage very accurately.
In prior art hydraulic wedge solutions, however, the splitting power achieved in splitting has been limited and, in addition, the structures of the wedge solutions have typically set limitations for possible uses of wedges. Furthermore, many of the known solutions are complex and expensive to implement.